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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28925679">Honey Stand</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phoenix_Is_Rising/pseuds/Phoenix_Is_Rising'>Phoenix_Is_Rising</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Naruto</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Aburame Clan, Bees, Bets &amp; Wagers, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Gen, Injury, Injury Recovery, Language</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 13:20:04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,140</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28925679</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phoenix_Is_Rising/pseuds/Phoenix_Is_Rising</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>You’d do anything to break Shino’s stoic exterior. Determined, you place a bet to see if you can pull it off.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aburame Shino/Reader</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>54</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I’m very excited for this series. It really has so much potential and you know it’s good when you’ve already plotted out the end.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“I’ve seen him laugh.” Naruto bragged, trying to be nonchalant. He smugly sat back against the wall. All eyes were wide and on Naruto. The bickering and chatter ceased. Everyone’s attention turned to the hyperactive, knucklehead ninja in varying degrees of disbelief. He crossed his arms. “Yep and he made me swear never to talk about it.”</p><p>“No fuckin’ way, Nart.” Kiba huffed and slammed his open palm on the table. The liquid in the glasses wobbled and a few stacked plates clattered. “He’s on <i>my</i> team and I can tell you right now that there’s absolutely <i>no way</i> that happened.”</p><p>His head snapped towards a reluctant Hinata for her to back up his statement. Her eyes widened, seeming to shrink into her seat as attention fell on her. Naruto’s stare bore into the poor Hyūga expectantly. Hinata’s hands came defensively in front of her. Sweat beaded on her temple as they pried for her to take a side.</p><p>“Um… well...” Hinata stammered. She gulped, diverting her gaze downward. “It, um… doesn’t seem likely-” Kiba about stood, once again shaking the table. A cry in protest from various members of the incomplete Konoha 12 fell deafly on the Inuzuka’s ears.</p><p>“See, you’re wrong!” Kiba clapped his hands in Naruto’s face. He blond waved his hands away, pouting with diverted eyes. Ino hummed to herself. A hand crossed over her chest to envelop her chin.</p><p>“I made him glower once. Something like this-” Her brows furrowed intensely and the side of her mouth tilted downward. “-Does that count?” The group collectively sighed.</p><p>“No way!”</p><p>“That’s how he is all the time…”</p><p>Naruto leaned forward, resting his head against his palms. A mischievous glint shone in his eyes. He sniggered hottily.</p><p>“Well I think that settles it. I broke Shino the best out of everyone.” His arms crossed over each other as he leaned back once more. You frowned. Your chopsticks fell back down to the edge of your bowl.</p><p>“But you didn’t do anything at all.” Your features drooped, unamused. Naruto stuck his nose up at you.</p><p>“But I saw it,” Naruto insisted, glancing wickedly around the table. “And so I win.”</p><p>A hush fell over the group of ninja. They exchanged subtle glances of challenge, not daring to outwardly challenge Naruto. Your napkins bunched up in your palm. A groan traveled up your throat, growing in your mouth.</p><p>“Nope.” You laced your fingers together in front of your mouth. Eyes fluttered closed, you shook your head back and forth. “No, you don’t win cause I’m gonna beat you.” Kiba raised an eyebrow.</p><p>“Is that a challenge?” Your lips pursed as your stare bore into Naruto.</p><p>“Damn straight.” Naruto’s smug exterior faltered. Determination lit in your pupils. “I can beat out your so-called ‘story’ in a month.” Naruto chuckled nervously.</p><p>“Wait, really?”</p><p>“I dunno, I think she has good chances.” Shikamaru drawled.</p><p>“No way,” Sakura cut in. “I don’t even think Naruto’s story is true.” You stared into the Jinchūriki’s eyes.</p><p>“How about we make it interesting then?”</p><p>You had the attention of everyone present. Naruto straightened his posture, arms still crossed. One of your wrists went down to rest against the table. Your cheek molded into your other palm. Naruto scoffed at your proposition.</p><p>“Okay, if you can’t break Shino in the time you said, you have to buy me Ichiraku for a month.” You huffed.</p><p>“Okay, but when I win, you have to become my errand boy for two months.” Naruto smirked, getting more into the dare. He held out a hand.</p><p>“Let’s raise the stakes. The loser has to go for a year.” He spoke your name in a mock challenge. Kiba nudged your side.</p><p>“Still feeling confident?” You rolled your eyes, grasping onto Naruto’s hand firmly.</p><p>“You’re on!”</p><p>***</p><p>The Aburame clan cared for a variety of insects and other bugs. Shino thought that people forgot that fact far too often. Although, people forgot about the Aburame clan in general far too often. If anyone bothered to talk to him, they would likely know that the bug-users of Konoha owned quite the extensive apiary. They even sold the honey on the side, which Shino, as one of the clan’s youngest members, got roped into a few times a week. If you had remotely spoken to him before you made your bet, you would have known this and saved a few hours of your time asking around the village.</p><p>And so, you arrived at his little honey stand late in the day. Shino sat. The stool looked far too small for him. In fact, it could have easily been a stepping stool or perhaps a child’s seat, but nonetheless, Shino sat anyway. In front of him sat two groups. On his left were large mason jars of honey and on his right sat clusters of colorful wildflowers in little glass vases. A wooden sign framed the top of his head. The letters had been neatly and analytically painted on to read, “Bouquets $12” and under it “Honey $15”.</p><p>“Ah! Shino!” You greeted, coming to stand in front of the booth. Despite his lacking seating arrangement, Shino still went up to about your standing height. “What a surprise, I didn’t expect to find you out here!” He hummed.</p><p>“You did know I was here. You’ve been asking all over the village where to find me.”</p><p>His eyes behind his dark frames seemed to bore into you and you immediately began to regret your bet. You almost asked how he knew, but before you could, a single beetle ran across his cheek. Your lips formed a circular shape as your nerve slowly began to wither away.</p><p>“Well, of course I was.” You played off smoothly. “I’ve heard so much about these flowers I had to see them for myself.” Shino seemed to pause. You really couldn’t tell behind his hood and frames.</p><p>“You heard about our… flowers.” The statement disguised a question.</p><p>“Yeah! Ino’s been pouting in like this jealous rage all week cause she can’t get hers to grow as well as yours.”</p><p>What you said held some truth. That was always the key to a good lie. Ino was having a hard time growing her flowers this year and the bouquets at the Aburame stand were a lot cuter than you expected. You stepped closer to get a better look at the multicolored bunches. You were never a flower person, but you had to admire beautiful horticulture when you saw it.</p><p>You glanced up at Shino. Per usual, he was quiet and near curled in on himself. He said nothing in response to your crafted excuse. You took in a breath through your nose. You have a whole month. You mentally reminded yourself that you’re not going to meet your end goal on the first day.</p><p>“I’ll take one of each.” You proclaimed, taking ryō out of your purse.</p><p>You missed the twitch of Shino’s temple, a sign of his slight confusion. He, however, remained quiet. You handed over the currency and proceeded to pick out your purchases. The jar of honey felt heavy in your palm and even heavier in your flimsy-strapped pack.</p><p>“This is too much.” Shino stated plainly. You glanced up.</p><p>“Keep it. Think of it as a tip for staying out here all day.” You could sense that Shino wanted to dispute you, but he made no efforts to. You plucked up the wrapped flowers from their little vase. “Ino was right to be jealous.” You mused and gazed at the plants at eye level. Water dripped from the stems and down your forearm. “These really are beautiful. You do nice work, Aburame.”</p><p>Once again, you were met with no response. A pang of anxiety echoed around your chest. Not only were you practically talking to yourself, but in all likelihood, you were being annoying. At least you have time to come up with a better plan than whatever this was. You cleared your throat, thanking him before you pivoted to begin walking away.</p><p>“It’s the bees.” Your head snapped back to Shino.</p><p>“Sorry?”</p><p>“The bees do all of the pollination. That’s why the flowers grow so well.”</p><p>“Oh. Well-” You turned back to fully face him, two hands on the bouquet. “-I still give you credit for being such a great apiarist. I don’t know if I could do that job and I’m sure it’s hard work.” Shino shifted slightly.</p><p>“Ah, you’re one of those.”</p><p>Another pang. You hid your unease behind a nervous smile. <i>What the fuck was that supposed to mean?</i> You gulped.</p><p>“I’d like to hear more about it sometime.” You offered, hoping to salvage anything at all from this conversation.</p><p>“You should probably get those in some water.” Shino said nothing more.</p><p>All you could do is widen your anxious grin before walking away stiffly with regret, slowly dying inside.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Your wallet was beginning to look very poor and you were quickly discovering that you didn’t have a strategy in the slightest for how you were going to win this bet. You had resorted to visiting the Aburame honey stand every day for the past few days. You had worn silly hats. You dressed up in your cutest clothes. You made up tall tales about outlandish goings on in the village and you had gotten nowhere. Nothing. So far, you had gotten nowhere and the flowers had started to pile up on your windowsill. Those you didn’t mind, but the amount of honey you’ve bought could easily last you a decade considering you didn’t remember the last time you even owned honey let alone used it. The corners of your lips tugged downward. Thirty ryō a day was starting to become steep for items you wouldn’t use.</p><p>When you opened up your cupboard, they stared at you. Jar upon jar of honey sat in front of you, claiming an entire shelf as their own. Your pan steamed on the stove below you and you pushed the bet out of your mind and reached for your spices. You took a breath, failing. A shake of your head as you groaned. You had a <i>whole month</i> to get a reaction bigger than a laugh, you tried to assure yourself. That’s all, right? You bowed your head over your meal. A reaction <i>bigger than a laugh</i>… from Shino Aburame, known stoic. You shook the herb mixture in contempt. What were you thinking?</p><p>You stood blinking at the salmon over your salad. The overhead light shone on your cheap blue dinner plates. The rest sat in excess. The greens still spilled over in your mixing bowl and the other fillet of fish sizzled in the slowly cooling frying pan. Your eyes moved to the window just ahead of you. It will be sunset soon. The mental image of Shino setting alone on his little stool flashed across your mind. You dragged a hand across your face before shoving the two portions into two separate to-go boxes. Wrapping them off in cloth you reluctantly shambled out of the door.</p><p>***</p><p>Like you anticipated, Shino Aburame still sat at the Aburame honey stand by the time you made your way up the hill. You stopped at the top, looking over your shoulder at the town cast in the golden light before looking back. You could have easily mistaken Shino for a statue. He faced forward, back only slightly slumped, unmoving. You trudged forward and he hardly turned to face you and he hardly greeted you. All you were offered was a slight nod.</p><p>“You don’t happen to have a second chair over there, do you?” A subtle shake of Shino’s head. “Yeah, I thought so.” You raised your bundle and motioned to the display of honey jars and vases of flowers. Your forehead wrinkled as if asking, <i>may I</i>? Shino took a second, looking both directions. Upon not seeing any potential customers, he tipped his head to his left and then forward. <i>Why not?</i></p><p>You carefully swept the product to the sides of the stand, plopping your bundle at the center of the surface. Shino stayed ever-still, inspecting the wrappings. You heaved a heavy sigh, fingers flicking the contents open to reveal the two boxes stacked vertically. You placed the one on top in front of him and Shino made no effort to move, instead simply diverting his attention to the single container.</p><p>“You like salad?” Shino nodded slowly. You leaned a hand against the table of the stand. “You like salmon?” You stared into his dark frames. Shino nodded again.</p><p>“Is it fresh?” You frowned.</p><p>“It doesn’t smell if that’s what you’re asking.” That seemed to be enough of an answer for him. Shino gingerly reached for the box, taking off its lid. He peeked inside. He humphed, seemingly in thought.</p><p>“Not what I expected,” he mused, reaching for the chopsticks that rested on the fabric packaging. You stared, batting your eyelashes in slight exasperation. <i>The fuck is that supposed to mean?</i> As if sensing your unease, Shino expressed his thoughts more explicitly. “You look like someone who overseasons their food.” You signed inwardly. Blunt as a bat, as usual.</p><p>“I don’t think there is such a thing.” You pouted slightly, but Shino fully ignored you.</p><p>You mentally measured the height of the stand. It easily went a bit past your waist. Too tall to kneel, far too short to stand. You grabbed your box and your utensils. Walking around the booth, you sat in the grass a few feet from Shino’s stool. Shino spared no glance and you sighed. At least you did your good deed for the day. You dug into your dinner. Like always, you absolutely killed it and if Shino wasn’t there, you might have groaned out loud.</p><p>You almost did. His presence had always been a calm one. In your peripheral, he almost blended right into the stand if it weren’t for the movement of his chopsticks. You leaned your head against the leg of the booth, looking back over the city. It was starting to get dark, but the sun still cast it’s glow over the village.</p><p>You weren’t sure why you asked. Perhaps you were lost in your gazing, but the words fell lazily from your lips.</p><p>“Got any cool facts about flowers?” Shino stared down at you, but you didn’t notice. You were still turned away as you looked out over Konoha.</p><p>“Magnolias are pretty cool.” Shino answered in his usual Shino way. You missed the hint of interest that sparked in his tone. In your defense, it, like everything else about the Aburame Clan, was subtle. “They evolved to be pollinated by beetles.” You hummed in distracted interest.</p><p>“How’s that?”</p><p>“Well, they face very broad, thick petals. Except those aren’t petals. They’re actually modified leaves called bracts.” You rolled your head against the hard surface behind you to look up at him.</p><p>“I think this is the most I’ve heard you speak,” You commented and Shino remained silent. The corners of your mouth turned upwards in a slight smile. “It’s nice.” You faced back the other direction. “Why beetles though?”</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“Why beetles for pollination? Why not a different bug?” Shino tapped his foot.</p><p>“It is likely that beetles happened to be the insect with the most potential. Some flowers were better at getting pollinated by beetles, so they made more seeds so that beetle-accommodating traits would be passed on to the next generation. Magnolias have stayed the same for the most part. I think they evolved before many pollinators learned to pollinate.”</p><p>Shino spoke about flowers until the sun eventually set. You listened, even as the crickets began to come out and chirp. Shino began to pull out a small cart from under the table. You hadn’t noticed it until now. He began to load up his products.</p><p>“Anything I can help with?” Shino shook his head. He handed you back your box, neatly wrapped in the fabric. You slid your own inside with it.</p><p>“Thank you for the meal.” Shino stood in front of you, wagon full and facing the opposite direction. “I very much enjoy salad with herbs.” You gave a nod.</p><p>“Duly noted.” That was all you could say before Shino began to head in the opposite direction. Silent.</p><p>You let out your umpteenth sigh for the day and turned on your heel before stopping short. Your eyes widened as your hand came up to slam against your own forehead. You could have cried. <i>Shino ate in front of you and you missed it</i>. Sure, it wasn’t a step above <i>laughing</i> but it sure as hell was a step <i>somewhere</i>. You huffed on your way home, thinking that you had gotten nowhere.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Fun fact, I asked my friend who’s a horticulture major for her fun flower facts. We use to work in the greenhouse together during plant sales at school. Legit love her so much.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>She long but I'm trying to keep the chapter count down.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>You supposed if something wasn’t broken, you shouldn’t fix it. Bringing Shino salad every other day was certainly far less expensive than buying flowers and honey on the daily. The Aburame clan didn’t always station Shino at the honey stand and he didn’t always take to eating your salads, but Shino never failed to take the tupperware and return it cleaned. You weren’t sure if salad-making counted as cooking, but nonetheless Shino seemed to enjoy it. Well, you could only hope, but you wouldn’t be making them for a while.</p><p>“An extension? You’re not even trying to be subtle about cheating…” Naruto crossed his arms across his chest with a huff. You scowled.</p><p>“How is it cheating if I’m being sent out on a mission? I’d probably be out of time by the time I came back.” Your eyes narrowed at the jinchūriki. Kiba mirrored your hands on your hips. He glanced rapidly between the two of you like a referee at the Valley of the End before shrugging in your direction.</p><p>“Well, you <i>do</i> have a good poi—”</p><p>“God fuckin’ dammit, Kiba!” Naruto groaned and threw his hands in the air. He clasped his hands together as he motioned to the Inuzuka. “How did I know? You <i>always</i> do this. You <i>never</i> take my side—” Kiba’s eyes narrowed.</p><p>“Well maybe if you didn’t spout stupid shit all the time maybe I’d agree with you more—” You, meanwhile, had a mission to prepare for.</p><p>“Are we done here?” You yelled from a distance away. Naruto and Kiba didn’t even register that you had left. You cupped your palms around your mouth. “Two against one, Nart. I’m getting the extension! Deal with it while I collect some sick mission stories!”</p><p>You ran off before either of the two men could complain. To you, it was official. You had an extension.</p><p>***</p><p>Missions, for you, usually meant late nights and interrupted sleep. You heard of teams getting particularly laid back team leaders who leave in the afternoons. Perhaps that would have been a better play in a tracking mission. But while sleeping in sounded nice, old-timers like your team leader opted to follow shinobi tradition and depart from the village in the evening, even if that meant letting the enemy get a head start.</p><p>You stood at the edge of the woods with your hands on the straps of your travel pack. The mission was an average ranked one so you hoped that you’d be back in a timely manner, but you never knew. You looked into the untelling darkness that existed between the tree branches. Anything could be lurking out there.</p><p>The team’s last member approached from the darkness. The tall, hooded figure could easily be any shinobi and you inwardly sighed at the prospect of having no one you knew on your team. You squinted, your eyesight not yet completely adjusted to the darkness that quickly enveloped the sky. Five minutes had passed since you were originally supposed to meet. The presence of the forest felt even more menacing. Your team leader shifted next to you. You noted the outline of his crossed arms.</p><p>“You aren’t always this late, are you Aburame?” Your lips folded together and you let out a small hum. Shino. On your team. For who knows how long. With the mission coming on so suddenly, you didn’t even know that Shino had been placed on your team. You didn’t know how to feel, but you supposed that you’d have plenty of time to figure it out. Maybe Naruto had been right after all.</p><p>You took another look at Shino’s form and your mind filled in the features that you didn’t recognize before. You saw it now. Even in the pitch black, he still wore his glasses.</p><p>“I was placed on this assignment at the last minute. Apparently no one thought to place a shinobi that excels in <i>tracking</i> on a team for a <i>tracking mission</i>.” He stopped in front of you. Shino usually sat when you saw him. You never really noticed how tall he stood until now. He surveyed the others. “No medic either. This might be a B ranked mission, but at this point, this is just careless.” Your team leader scoffed.</p><p>“You sure complain a lot for someone who was <i>late</i>.” Shino remained, per usual, expressionless. Your team leader faced away with a huff. “Let’s go. We’ve wasted enough time.” The leader disappeared and reappeared in the treetops. You followed in fear of falling behind. You felt the presence of your two other teammates not too far to your left.</p><p>You kicked off each branch in an attempt to keep up with your leader’s punishing pace. The air whistled in your ears and stung your eyes as you sped through the leaves. You pulled down your goggles. Moisture from the canopy stained the glass, leaving wisps of water across your vision. It rained the day before and despite the broad leaves overhead, the tree bark still remained slick. Your team leader didn’t slow down. The slick bottom of your boots slid across the next branch, almost causing you to tumble down to the ground below. A strong hand grabbed the back of your uniform collar, heaving you back to balance near the truck of a tree.</p><p>“What are you slowing down for?” Your leader scowled down at you from a few tree branches away. Your fourth teammate settled in another part of the treetops nearby.</p><p>“If you wanted to rush we should have left earlier,” Shino said, a certain Aburame nothingness in his voice. A silence joined the other things hanging among the trees. “Let me scout the area before you get someone killed.” Shino let go of the fabric on the back of your clothing and stepped forward. A swarm of beetles fluttered out of his body, scattering around the expanse of the forest.</p><p>“Thanks, Shino,” you spoke near a whisper. Among the numerous beasts that no doubt lurked in the darkness, your leader seemed to be the one you least wanted to anger. Shino hummed with a nod and the four of you jumped off into the night, your team leader huffing,</p><p>“And here I always thought that Aburame brats were <i>quiet</i>.”</p><p>***</p><p>Your break came in the very early hours of the morning. Darkness still enveloped the sky, but now the vastness took on a shade of blue. You sat up and alone. You had watched the fire go out a few minutes ago. The smoke wafted into the air. Your leader slept stiffly on one side of the pit and your other teammate curled up on the other. Shino sat propped up against a large root, arms crossed. You weren’t sure if he was awake. Leader assigned him first watch, likely out of contempt, but you insisted on volunteering. Fatigue tugged at your eyes. You reminded yourself that this would only be a small sacrifice for your comrade and that you would be home soon.</p><p>Your eyes adjusted to the darkness long ago. You couldn’t help but notice that everything seemed a lot brighter. The Land of Fire always had a nice, summer tone to it. Even on missions, the navy tint that painted the landscape reminded you of happier times. Many Leaf shinobi said that they didn’t mind dying on the battlefield as long as it was the Land of Fire. You knew why.</p><p>Your head rested on the arms you wrapped around your knees. Travel would begin again soon and your heels still ached. You closed your eyes for a few seconds.</p><p>“Go to sleep.” A momentary spike of adrenaline shot through your system as your eyes popped open. Shino sat in his same spot across from you, posture unmoving. Even behind his glasses you could feel his stare.</p><p>“I’m awake. Don’t worry, I’m awake.” You stretched your legs out in front of you. Arching your back, your spine made a few audible cracks. You leaned forward again, assuming your position back with your arms wrapped around your legs.</p><p>“You’re exhausted.” Like usual, Shino was right. You yawned as you covered your gaping mouth.</p><p>“Well I <i>did</i> take first watch. You should get some more rest while you can. I think you’re the most useful out of all of us for this mission anyway.” You shifted, feeling your upper thighs starting to become numb.</p><p>“You’re not wrong.” The sounds of the forest took up the empty space in your conversation. You heard a buzzing, some chirping. You never truly realized how much insects comprised the life of the forest and you wondered if Shino felt any sort of comfort from their presence. “But I don’t need the same kind of sleep that you do. Many insects that live in swarms function in a similar fashion where there are…”</p><p>Shino trailed off. You probably didn’t want to hear about any of that. No one ever really liked when he spoke about bugs. No one really liked when he spoke in general. He assumed that you didn’t care for insects either.</p><p><i>“I still give you credit for being such a great apiarist.”</i> Shino recalled you saying, <i>“I don’t know if I could do that job and I’m sure it’s hard work.”</i> You didn’t know if you could handle caring for bees. Fair. You said it kindly enough, but growing up hearing so many comments of disgust, he couldn’t help but think about it irrationally. He knew that what you meant hadn’t been malicious, but he only heard a rejection. Shino acknowledged his own insecurity and resented himself for having it.</p><p>“Yeah?” Your voice broke through his thoughts. Shino glanced back up at you.</p><p>“Hm?”</p><p>Your head lulled to the side. You yawned again, “Are you sure you don’t need to go to sleep, Shino? You stopped talking in the middle of your sentence.” Shino cleared his throat.</p><p>“What I was saying didn’t matter,” he said with a certain amount of bite in his tone. He didn’t direct his frustration at you. He didn’t know what he felt frustrated at.</p><p>“Oh…” you cooed, consciousness not fully in the moment. “That’s kinda sad. I like it when you talk about bugs and stuff.” Shino almost let out a scoff.</p><p>“No you don’t.” You snorted and Shino tilted his head in acute confusion.</p><p>“Why do you think I bring you dinner all the time? I like talking to you. You don’t get to talk to too many people who are as smart and as passionate as you.” Your filter officially turned off a few hours ago. Thoughts of sleep were all that occupied your brain. You could feel embarrassed later.</p><p>Shino thought. He thought long and hard and kicked himself as a shinobi for never truly questioning why you came to visit him. Sure, he had been skeptical. The topic had been one that he dwelled on for a few minutes at a time, but he never expected that to be the reason why you came to see him. If you had asked, he would have guessed that you came as a joke or perhaps out of pity. But the more he thought about it, the more he was willing to accept the reason you gave. Shino thought for the very first time that perhaps someone in the village saw him as a person.</p><p>“Ants can take up to over two hundred naps a day. They each last about a minute and that time actually adds up. When a bug works in a swarm, the whole swarm can’t sleep all at once, so each member sleeps in shifts…”</p><p>When Shino spoke about plants and bugs, he never seemed to run out of things to say. You supposed that it was the area he felt most comfortable in and as one of his most obvious hobbies, asking him about it became your go-to conversation-wise. Although first out of nervousness, you told him the truth: you liked talking to such a passionate person.</p><p>And Shino talked into the night. You listened until you found your drifting becoming more and more severe.</p><p>“Shino?” You called out his name in a small, delicate voice.</p><p>“Mhm?” He hummed in response. You were fully slouched over, head buried against your knees. Your hair started to fall out of its confines and drape like a veil around your face. Shino always found it funny the kinds of positions shinobi could fall asleep in.</p><p>“I’m not falling asleep because I don’t care about what you’re saying, m’kay?” A pang hit the core of Shino’s chest. If he didn’t know any better, he would think that you were telling him that you cared about what he was saying. That he had your attention. About him. He gulped and said nothing. In your sleepy voice, you continued on, “You just have a really nice voice, m’kay?”</p><p>A small smile began to appear on Shino’s thin lips. He tilted his head up towards the treetops. You wouldn’t be able to sleep for long, but at least you’d get a small nap in. He spoke your name in his smooth voice. You didn’t think you had ever heard him say it before.</p><p>“Go to sleep.”</p><p>You did, and for some reason, Shino didn’t feel offended that you fell asleep in the middle of his lesson on insects.</p><p>***</p><p>Your traveling continued the next morning at a breakneck pace. Shino’s beetles made short work of any small villages that you came across, quickly scouting out the area before reporting back. You were on the right track but just shy of reaching your targets. You weren’t too far from Konoha, but if they reached the border of the Hidden Rain, they would be out of the jurisdiction of the Leaf. Your leader would be relying on your quick speed and slender fingers to retrieve the scroll. Sleight of hand had always been something you excelled in and in a specialized team you could be of use, but as you stared at the back of your leader’s head, you weren’t so sure how useful you would be.</p><p>You departed from the umpteenth, small village. Back into the woods. You appreciated the sunlight whenever you could get it. Beams of light glimmered through the leaves, but the bark on the trees remained damp. The rain dried up in the villages under the now shining sun which made you wish that your team had found the right place already. Shino’s beetles fanned out ahead. Seeing them all en masse stuck you as equal parts fascinating and eerie.</p><p>“There’s a camp ahead.” Shino’s voice carried over the wind. He appeared as aloof as usual, but he stuck closer than usual. Your leader turned back to you and spoke your name with a gruff voice. He motioned forward with his head.</p><p>“Okay, kid. You’re up.”</p><p>You nodded before heading to the lead of the pack. Your eyes narrowed behind the glass of your goggles. Sure enough, you spotted a camp down at a small clearing between the trees. Your eyes trained on the green and red scroll peeking out of one of the packs by a fallen log. You gave a confident nod and Shino sent a surge of beetles down, creating a perfect cover for you as your targets instictually ducked. You leaped down from the branches, hoping to get away with the scroll before you could be met with confrontation. With Shino’s assistance, you plucked up the whole pack before bolting back into the woods. You heard the fighting break out behind you and you could already sense a presence gaining on you.</p><p>You bolted through the trees. Plucking a few kunai from the bag that was attached to your hip, you sent them out behind you, hoping to shake your pursuer. They flew from your fingers, one by one. You turned only for a split second, but at your velocity the seconds you missed looking ahead were critical. A figure darted out in front of you and in an attempt to slow yourself down, you crashed down into the ground. Your eyes clenched shut as you braced for impact. You hugged the package close to your chest as you skidded through the leaflitter and dirt before crashing into a nearby tree with a deafening thud. The pack was taken from you and you were left alone before your eyes even opened again.</p><p>You were close, but you still failed. You supposed that failure, when it often happened, came quickly in the shinobi world and you weren’t sure whether or not you were thankful for that fact.</p><p>Your leader was already scowling by the time you found the group again. You clutched your shoulder. Your whole left arm had been torn up from your crash. The injuries weren’t too severe to cause permanent damage, but the scapes stung and bled profusely. Your team leader opened his mouth to, no doubt, scold you, but Shino stepped forward and began to guide you away. His arm ghosted over the middle of your back.</p><p>“I’ll help.” That was all he said. Somewhere between your fatigue and the sting of your open skin, you silently complied. You didn’t get far.</p><p>“Where the fuck do you two think you’re going?”</p><p>Shino frowned. You didn’t look back, but he did just briefly.</p><p>“We have no medic. Open wounds need to be cleaned. We’ll regroup to discuss strategy when we come back.” You didn’t know how, but no further argument followed you as Shino guided you to a nearby river.</p><p>***</p><p>It burned. Whatever Shino put on your injuries, it burned, though it did in a medicinal sort of way if you had to put a name to it. You sat together by the water. It was just starting to turn midday and the sun shone brightly above you. Shino sat next to you on the sand and pebbles, crushing up some sort of leaves or herbs that he gathered from nearby. Anything he did, he didn’t explain, but you trusted him enough to dress your, now clean, scrapes.</p><p>You looked down at your arm. Shinobi were used to gore, but if it didn’t look like you had been dragged across the whole forest before, it certainly looked like it now. Wet, mushy leaves clung onto the dampness of your skin. Shino scraped the last of his makeshift ointment from off of the two rocks he used as grinding stones and applied it gingerly to the remaining part of your injury. You cringed at the pain.</p><p>“It hurts now, but it won’t get infected. Hopefully we pulled out everything and it’ll heal properly. Nothing too deep that I saw, but then again I’m not a medical ninja.” You carefully flexed your arm back and felt the keen sting.</p><p>“Coulda fooled me.”</p><p>You almost brought yourself to laugh. Shino sat next to you silently, looking off to the running water. A cool breeze blew by, giving a bit of satisfaction to your abrasion. The various tall grasses that grew around you rattled. It truly was a beautiful day.</p><p>“Shino?” He hummed in response. “Does the medical corps know stuff like this? Like do you think medics know how to do this?” Shino shrugged.</p><p>“Maybe some of them, but I’m particularly well versed in the plant life around the Land of Fire. I wouldn’t say that every medical ninja would have this expertise, no.” Your eyes lit up with a hopeful sheen.</p><p>“You should talk to someone in charge! This would be great common knowledge to have in the field.” Shino hummed again. He took in your face and the awe that plaster itself onto it. Shino wondered what he did that deserved such a reaction.</p><p>“I never really thought about it.” You laid a hand on his with a goofy smile.</p><p>“I think it could start something really great for the village. I’m not surprised that it’s coming from you, Shino.”</p><p>He looked down at your hand. Normally, he would have asked you not to touch him, but he let it slide. And you had forgotten all about your bet with Naruto.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Referring to Naruto as “Nart” is one of my new favorite things.<br/>Thank you to everyone who left kudos, bookmarked, commented, and subscribed. Your support means so much and is greatly appreciated.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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